de Capo al Fine
by tearsofamiko
Summary: Rises and falls, softer and louder, the music paints a story for them, a story of life and love. TIVA drabbles


Title: de Capo al Fine

Author: Tearsofamiko

Rating: K

Disclaimer: Zip, zilch, nada; I own nuh-think!

Spoilers: Brief mentions of things from seasons 5 and 6

Summary: Rises and falls, softer and louder, the music paints a story for them, a story of life and love. TIVA drabbles

A/N: I finally gave in and did one of those "10 drabble, shuffled media player" things. I needed some TIVA - and I promise they're _all_ TIVA - to go with my AU JIBBS. I don't think they're particularly good, but I enjoyed the challenge. BTW, no comments on my taste in music. ^^;

.:::.

_Shape of My Heart -- Backstreet Boys (Black & Blue)_

He tried to explain, to tell her all the important things that needed saying, but he could tell it wasn't working. She was pulling farther away from him with each word he spoke and nothing he said was getting through. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and blurted it out.

"Please, don't go." He swallowed harshly. "You know I had to; I wasn't allowed to tell. Just don't leave. I love you. I'm so sorry, for all of it. But I love you. Nothing else matters."

She finally came to him then, wrapped herself in his arms, and nothing else _did_ matter.

.:::.

_The Extreme -- Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy VIII OST)_

He didn't know what had happened, couldn't remember anything. He opened his eyes, winced, and immediately closed them again, starbursts of color appearing behind his lids. Gingerly, he sat up and squinted at his surroundings.

Emergency personnel rushed around him, firefighters battling the flames and smoke smothering the atmosphere, paramedics trying to help the various injured. The air echoed with the cacophonous sounds of chaos and, as he sat there, a vague urgency began to make itself known. He didn't remember where or who he was, but he knew there was something he needed to do.

He frowned and considered that. Something he needed to do? No, someone he needed to find. Air wheezed in his lungs as he struggled to his feet, heart hammering and head spinning, to take off into the midst of the chaos.

He couldn't see her, couldn't find her.

_Where is she?_ The thought was a mantra as he checked faces and bodies. _Where is she?_

Finally he saw a flash of color and recognition came.

_Ziva._

.:::.

_Spoken For -- MercyMe (WOW Hits 2004)_

The argument was escalating and, at the rate they were going, neither he nor Gibbs would have a job when it was over. It didn't matter, though. He just had to get Jenny to _see_.

Finally, when he thought that either Gibbs or the Director or both were just about to shoot him, the door opened, suspending animation as they all turned to face her.

"He did not do it."

"Officer David, you can't—"

"He did not do it."

"Ziva—" he tried.

"How do you know?" Gibbs demanded, though he halfway believed her already.

"I know because Tony was with me last night. All night."

The silence was absolute and, while he was a little embarrassed and more than a little afraid of what Gibbs would do, he couldn't help the stupid grin that spread across his face.

(A/N: Okay, so it went a little _Dirty Dancing_ there. Oh, well. :D)

.:::.

_Hot Blooded -- Foreigner (Hard Rock Café: Party Rock Classics)_

The scent of her filled his nose, spicy and exotic and wholly addictive. It drove all thought out of his head and redirected his focus. The undercover job didn't matter anymore, the earwig in his ear and McGee listening outside were non-existent; nothing else filled his head but her. He'd pay for it later, but right now it didn't matter.

He stepped onto the dance floor and pulled her into his arms, the music pounding in his head and her body hot against his. They moved in harmony, lost in each other, as the heat built around and within them.

.:::.

_River of Dreams -- Billy Joel (River of Dreams)_

She knew it was a dream right off the bat, but something compelled her to follow.

She heard voices, just barely out of range, and recognized part of the siren call pulling at her. A scent floated back to her, a cologne she knew well, something that whispered of sweet desires and raging passions. She knew it but couldn't place it, just like the voice. She moved forward, shoving branches aside as she followed the moist taste of water in the air and the elusive clues of her prey.

Abruptly she woke and groaned, smashing her face into the pillow. She rolled over and sighed, then tensed slightly when a warm arm curled around her waist and pulled her back against a firm body.

"Go back to sleep, Zee-vah," a sleep-fogged voice slurred against her ear.

Smiling, she snuggled into Tony's embrace and did just that, the sound of a waterfall echoing vaguely in her ears as she breathed in the smell of his skin.

.:::.

_Beethoven -- Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Beethoven's Last Night)_

It was insane, the entire thing – the search, the case, finding the suspect, the car chase. This shootout in an alleyway just capped it. It was insane, but she couldn't help the thrill of exhilaration that hummed through her blood.

Grinning ferally, she reloaded her Sig and glanced at her partner. An echo of her excitement shone in his eyes and he smiled back at her. She reveled in the feeling, the energy and the recklessness that followed on the edge of it. They had a job to do but she couldn't help herself.

Licking her lips, she planted a hard, quick kiss to his mouth, felt his lips press back in return, then turned her attention back to the situation at hand.

Some days, she loved her job.

.:::.

_It's All Coming Back to Me Now -- Meatloaf (Bat Out of Hell III)_

It had been three months. Three months since he'd felt the warmth of her skin against his. Three months since that horrible fight the night before they were scattered to the winds. And, as she stood there watching him with her beautiful dark eyes, it was like it never happened. There was a case, of course, and Gibbs hovering nearby, but they managed to sneak moments.

A quick kiss in the car to relearn the taste of her mouth while Gibbs got coffee.

A hurried caress of mouths and hands in an empty storeroom on the _Seahawk_ to remember the feel of her skin.

Heated glances and double-edged words to recapture the way they'd once been.

Then there was that brief moment on the transport home when Gibbs was asleep.

"I didn't mean what I said that night," he murmured.

"I know." Her smile was soft and forgiving and it was all it took to remember everything.

.:::.

_Goodnight, Goodnight -- Maroon 5 (It Won't Be Soon Before Long)_

_Why did they always fight? Why couldn't they be together without hurting each other?_ he wondered as he stared at the dark windows of her apartment, the echoes of their argument still ringing in his ears.

_Why couldn't she say what she meant? Why did only weightless banter or scathing words fall from her lips around him?_ she wondered as she watched him from across the bullpen.

_Was it him?_ he thought as she stood next to him in front of the plasma discussing a case.

_Was it her?_ she thought as she refused to look at him while the elevator traveled to the garage.

_Maybe they knew too much about the other and too little how to deal with it to make things work out right,_ their thoughts paralleled in the echoing silence as they headed to separate cars and went their different ways.

.:::.

_I wonder -- Diffuser (Freaky Friday OST)_

Israel was a world away from him but she could barely focus on the tasks she was given each day. All she thought about him – what his reactions would be, his jokes, his enigmatic eyes with their shadowy secrets. A thousand times a day she reached for a phone to call him but never could make herself dial the number.

A world away at sea, staring into his coffee cup one morning, he wondered if she ever thought about him now that she was home.

.:::.

_I Can't Go There -- Kenny Chesney (No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problems)_

He pulled himself off the couch after another sleepless night, refusing to consider the stairs as he pulled on yesterday's shirt. The dull pain tugged at his mind as the memories welled before he had a chance to shut them away.

Reaching into the cupboard for a coffee cup, he caught sight of her mug and something within him cracked, something that had been strong but shaky since the single gunshot six months ago had shattered his life. He sank to the floor as tears rolled down his face, the blue and white cup clutched in one hand as the other clung to a fragile gold chain and pendant hanging around his neck.

Two hours later, Gibbs found Tony in the kitchen clutching the cup, the broken chain holding Ziva's Star of David in a tangle on the floor a foot from his agent's open hand. The ex-Marine wasn't shocked, didn't feel anything but hollow, though he'd half-expected this. He knelt next to his agent, reached out to run his fingers through the thick brown hair, not disturbing but offering comfort as the younger man floated in the kind oblivion of sleep, his features tear-streaked and slack as he unconsciously clung to the remaining pieces of the woman he'd loved and lost.


End file.
